Lot Details
Lot 2426
Michele Cammarano
Italian, 1835-1920
An African-American Regiment in the United States Army Forming for Battle, possibly the Battle of Fort Wagner, South Carolina
Signed Michele Cammarano and dated '64 (lr); inscribed Cincinnati and numbered 145 on the original stretcher
Oil on canvas
28 x 52 1/4 inches
The American Civil War was followed closely in Europe, at first as a matter of international politics, but later, after the Emancipation Proclamation of September 22, 1862, as a crusade to abolish slavery. This remarkable work by the Italian battle-painter Michele Cammarano, executed while the war was in progress-and certainly to fulfill a specific commission-suggests how interested Europeans were in the conflict and in the first black units to serve in the U.S. Army.
At the beginning of the war, many free African-Americans in the North organized regiments and offered their services to the Union. At first these offers were turned down, but after a year of fighting, horrendous casualties forced the War Department to reconsider; by the summer of 1863, a number of African-American units had seen action. Although paid less than white soldiers, and given poor equipment and food, more than 185,000 black men served in the army during the war, and countless others worked as scouts, spies, and camp laborers. Their bravery, the subject of many news reports at the time, is legendary today.
Although the subject of the painting is not entirely clear, the South Carolina flag, sandy terrain, scrub palms, and nearby water suggest that the scene takes place on the southeastern coast. Thus, it has been proposed that the event represented is the famous assault by the Massachusetts 54th Regiment on Fort Wagner, on Morris Island near Charleston, in July 1863. Although the topography shown does not precisely resemble the site, Cammarano, like other battle-painters of the nineteenth century, would have developed his composition not on location, but in his studio, working from maps, firsthand descriptions, and examples of actual uniforms, weapons, and other equipment to create a feeling of authenticity.
It is also unclear whether Cammarano traveled to this country to gather material and inspiration for the work prior to its completion in 1864. We know that the artist was in Rome in 1860, and worked in Paris from 1865 to 1870. Thus, a trip to the United States sometime in 1863-1864 cannot be ruled out.
Additional Notes & Condition Report
Possibly the battle of Fort Wagner.
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